It is common practice to close an open top of a truck bed of a pickup truck with a cover such as a camper shell (also referred to in industry as a cap) or a tonneau cover, for example that which is a single solid body (commonly made of fibreglass) spanning the length of the bed and which is liftable in pivotal motion about its end at a front wall of the bed or that which comprises a plurality of panels each pivotal relative to the next so that the cover is foldable to uncover a portion of the bed while a remainder of the bed remains covered or that which comprises a rollable canvas or fabric material.
Each cover is contiguous with the truck bed at a plurality of seams about the bed where the cover meets the bed at or adjacent top edges thereof. Typically, a seal between the cover and the truck bed at these seams is substantially airtight so that air is inhibited from passing therethrough. However, there exist openings and corresponding passageways in the truck bed including at existing seams between adjacent walls of the truck bed and between the respective wall and the floor, as well as openings in the bed which are used for example for tying down contents stored in the bed or for water drainage from the bed, and thus even though the bed is coveredair is able to pass from an outside to an inside of the covered bed through the existing openings and passageways in the bed. Passage of air at the existing seams and openings/passageways, particularly in a direction into the bed, is exacerbated during transport when the truck is moving such that ambient air is drawn into the covered truck bed. As such, when travelling down dusty roads, dust is drawn into the bed along with the ambient air thus causing an inside of the truck bed and any contents therein to be covered with dust. This is a common problem known to pickup truck drivers who travel down unpaved roads having for example a gravel or dirt surface.
The Applicant has developed a solution by which dust and other particulate debris is inhibited from passing into the covered truck bed during transport.